Lip Gloss
by PacificPikachu
Summary: Misty's wearing lip gloss, and Ash is ridiculously annoyed by this. One-shot, somewhat silly, implied Ash/Misty.


_A/N: First fanfic I've submitted online in a few years now. I'm admittedly somewhat rusty, but hopefully I'll be submitting more AAML one-shots eventually, as I write them. Timeline makes no sense, just doing Misty-never-left-headcanon I suppose. Kept tweaking with the ending but I'm still not 100% happy with it. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!_

**Lip Gloss**

As soon as Misty joined the boys for breakfast, she could tell Ash was going to be trouble that day. She sighed and sat down at the table Brock set up earlier, while both of them had been sleeping, and tried to ignore Ash's eyes boring into her. Some days he was particularly antagonistic, especially lately. It only took her one glance to tell when one of those days was beginning, because even after he just woke up, his eyes would be bright like molten copper, and he would be scowling at her. Pikachu seemed to sense his trainer's attitude, too, and he took to lingering around the neutral party. In this case, the neutral party just happened to be Brock.

"Thank you for the pancakes, Brock!" Misty chirped sweetly, and Brock smiled in response, but said nothing. Ash fidgeted with his fork as Brock set the plates in front of his traveling companions.

Everyone could feel the tension in the air. Pikachu glanced from person-to-person, hoping to get some kind of explanation or reaction, but everyone seemed to be pretending nothing was going on. He twitched his ears and tail. Nervous static zipped around in his fur, making it stand on end.

Misty ate the pancakes politely, pretending to be paying attention to the flavor, but she was watching Ash surreptitiously. He gobbled down the pancakes with a vengeance, in chunks, with seemingly no concept of what he was eating or how it tasted. He hadn't said a word.

Brock cleared his throat between eating his own pancake. "So, uh, Ash, you're planning on training for the League more today, right? It's coming up awfully fast, and you haven't done as much training as I think you could."

"Mmmm-hmmm," he hummed.

"Well, good! What's the plan, then? Are we headed to the mountains today? The beach? Forest? Looking for trainers on routes?"

"I dunno. Just field stuff, I guess," he said, distractedly. He kept glancing back over to Misty, and Brock joined Pikachu in looking between the two. It was unusual for their traveling party to be so quiet. Normally, they would be chatting away about anything at all, jovial and smiling, but today a proverbial storm cloud was overhead, despite the sunshine on the chill winter day. He knew he was probably asking for trouble, but he said it anyway. The tension was getting to him and he just had to restore the peace, or at least force the tension into the forefront so the two of them could fight it out like always and then be over with it. Once they argued, things usually went back to normal…at least, for a while. "Something wrong, Ash? You seem a little…uh…tense?"

"Misty's wearing something weird on her lips," he muttered, glowering, speaking to Brock as though Misty weren't even there.

"Excuse me, Ash?" Misty growled, grabbing the collar of his shirt with one hand and pulling him closer to her. Now he was looking at her, at least for the moment. Brock and Pikachu took a few steps back, bracing themselves for the inevitable explosions, and attempting as best as they could to fade into the greenery. They didn't even need to fade, though—Ash and Misty might as well have blinders on as far as they were concerned. They only had eyes for each other, and not in the sweet way. "If you have a problem, just say it to me, don't pretend I'm not even here! And it's called lip gloss, you idiot, and it's totally normal!" She huffed. She let his collar go and he regained his previous posture, sitting rigidly.

"Well, how come you've never worn that stupid sparkly stuff before, then? We've only been traveling together for years now." Ash mocked.

"B-because, I only just ran out of chapstick, and my lips are chapped, and this was in my bag, probably left over from my sisters, so…! Why does it matter to you, anyway?"

Ash sniffed. "It doesn't fit you at all. It's too girly. Pink and sparkly, give me a break! You could have just asked to use my chapstick."

Misty ignored the implications of that, though her mind wandered to them regardless. "Why does it matter? It has nothing to do with you, you don't have a right to say anything about it in the first place! It's not your business!" She crossed her arms.

"Well, you always say things about how my face is dirty or I need to brush my hair, so you're not any better! That's not your business, either!"

"That's because you look ridiculous if you go into town and you have mud on your face, or your hair has sticks in it! We don't want people laughing at us, you'll never be taken seriously as a trainer if you look like some crazy weirdo living in the woods! People don't feel that way about something like lip gloss, it's not the same!"

"Oh, so you're turning into your sisters now, are you? Just going to be a girly girl, maybe stop training Pokémon so you can wear pretty outfits and show off for boys?" Ash speared a piece of pancake with his fork and chewed it aggressively, glaring all the while. "Give me a break," he said, with his mouth full.

"You take that back! I am nothing like my sisters, lip gloss or not! And you of all people should know I have no plans of quitting Pokémon training or anything, and you are just acting way out of line, Ash Ketchum! I told you, I put it on because my chapstick ran out, so stop acting like I'm wearing a frilly dress or something!"

"Maybe you should wear a frilly dress, to match your lips!"

"Maybe you should stop acting like a jerk and an idiot!" Misty glanced over to where Brock was pretending not to pay attention, by shuffling items about in his bag as if he were reorganizing. When Misty added, "Isn't that right, Brock?" pointedly, Brock felt as if he had been hit by an arrow. Here he had been trying so hard not to get dragged into this.

"Uh…what? I wasn't listening to what you guys are talking about," Brock said, scratching the back of his head with one hand. No one bought it. Even Pikachu looked skeptical. Brock never was a good liar.

Misty turned to him, one eyebrow quirked, practically breathing fire. She knew better than to fall for that. "Brock, tell Ash he's being stupid and to cut it out!"

Brock didn't normally take sides in their fights—it was generally just bound to cause more drama, and most of the time he was incapable of forming a coherent opinion about their choices of argument in the first place (such were the topics they tended to argue about). But this time, he figured, Ash _was_ acting rather immature, and Misty _did_ have logic on her side, at least to a point.

"Misty's got a point, Ash…" Brock said, defeated, knowing he was going to regret this.

Misty smiled smugly, while Ash whined, "What? Why would you side with her? Brock, it isn't fair, we guys are supposed to stick together!"

"Oh, come on, Ash, you're getting all upset about the fact that Misty is wearing lip gloss. Let it go, will ya? Misty has a right to wear whatever she wants, it doesn't really have anything to do with you."

"But she—" Ash sputtered, but then had to stop as the gears in his head turned. He didn't have a good excuse, did he? He was beginning to realize his side of the argument was baseless, but as soon as he glanced at Misty with her eyebrows furrowed and arms folded and her lips sparkling in the sunlight, his determination was renewed. "But she—she's being annoying! She's doing this on purpose to distract me from training!" He pouted.

Brock made a tiny snort, and as soon as it came out he thought better of it. Misty's crossed arms unfolded a bit as she blinked at Ash. "I'm doing what? I don't even know what you're talking about! I think you're starting to lose it, Ash, you don't even know what you're saying."

"I—um…" Ash paused for a moment. "Never mind, forget I said that! Anyway, it's just stupid!"

Brock thought he looked just a bit rattled, though, despite his defensive stance with his fists up as if he was actually going to physically fight Misty. It wouldn't be the first time they'd scuffled, though never in any serious way. It had been a long time since they'd had that kind of volatility, though. Before Misty could open her mouth to continue the argument, Brock threw his hands in the air. "Okay, you two, time out. I'm going to talk to each of you separately. Then we'll come to an agreement and move on with our day and your training, Ash."

It wasn't as though stepping in as a mediator was necessary. He had seen things get far more heated than this and still no serious harm was done, and the two would still reconcile without issue. Personal curiosity compelled him this time, as well as not allowing this argument to devolve into the inevitable "It's your fault!" "No, it's yours!" or, even worse, the dreaded "Nuh-uh!" "Ya-huh!" until something distracted them long enough for them to forget what they were arguing about. Knowing them, it could be hours, and Brock did not want that headache.

Pikachu watched from the tent with nervous fascination. Normally Brock stayed on the sidelines, only playing referee between them if there was something more important going on at the time that they were supposed to be focusing on.

Brock pulled Misty aside first while Ash watched them with a scowl, attempting to lip read or gain understanding from their body language, though he failed at both. "Look, Misty, for the record I think he's being dumb, too. It really isn't his business. But now I'm curious what's underlying this sudden outburst because this dumb behavior is abnormal even for Ash. So, just give me a sec to talk to him, okay? I'll let you know if I figure anything out."

Misty's arms were still crossed defensively, but she softened toward Brock. It was nice to have someone on her side for once. "'Kay, thanks Brock. I don't know what's up with him lately. This is ridiculous. I'm sick of him acting all petty and trying to pick fights when I haven't even done anything wrong. I mean, yeah, we argue all the time, but it's not usually so…so…"

"Forced? Contrived? Persistent?" Brock said. "Yeah, I know. Anyway, just go sit down and don't provoke him any more. I'll see what I can find out."

Brock pulled Ash aside, and Ash still looked haughtier than Misty had, even when singled out.

"Okay, Ash," he started. "Do you care to explain what this is all about? It's not normal for you to go out of your way to pick fights with Misty like this. What's up with the sudden attitude?"

Ash fidgeted for a while, grumpy, looking more like a five-year-old than a teenager.

"Well?" Brock prompted.

"You're going to think this is crazy."

"Go on."

"I think Misty is trying to sabotage my training."

Brock tried his hardest to repress it, but a snort of laughter and a smile emerged anyway.

"See! I knew you wouldn't believe me! Forget it, then, I'm not going to talk to you about it. I'll talk to Pikachu instead." He turned as if he was headed for the tent, where Pikachu was glancing nervously about, but Brock stopped him.

"Wait, Ash! Sorry, it's just…that is crazy, man. Sorry, but it is. Why would you even think that?"

"She keeps doing distracting things, and I think it's on purpose."

"What do you mean, distracting things? I haven't noticed anything abnormal. She's certainly not the one trying to fight with you."

Ash signed, exasperated. "I can't concentrate, she's always doing these things that are so…I don't know, it's weird!"

"You haven't answered my question. What is it that she's doing?"

"Well, like, we were training in the sprinklers the other day with the water Pokémon, and she was wearing that bikini—"

"Ash, she always wears bik—" Brock suddenly got it. Not what Ash was trying to say, because that made no sense, but what he wasn't saying and probably didn't even know he was getting at. "Ohhhh!"

"Anyway, then she took the ponytail out and she doesn't do that a lot except when she's sleeping. Then she, um, she gave me a hug the other day before we went to bed. Yeah, she hugs me sometimes but usually only when I get hurt or she's worried or scared of something, so this was totally weird. And now she's wearing sparkly lip gloss, which she's never done before, and it just… It isn't normal! I keep thinking about it instead of thinking about Pokémon like I always do! I think she's up to something, but I can't figure out what it could be."

"Ash," Brock said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Ash, I hate to break it to you, but…"

"But what, Brock? Do you still think I'm crazy?"

"Two things. Misty is not doing anything abnormal. She always does those sorts of things. It's just that you're only noticing them now. And I think the reason for that is…"

"She's stepping up her distractions because the League is coming up! I knew it!"

"No, Ash. You really are oblivious, aren't you? Because of hormones. Your hormones, specifically. As in, they're finally starting to get through to you. Congrats, pal, welcome to the club! Now we can talk about girls together! It'll be great!"

"What? No! Brock! Brock, what are you implying?"

"Oh, this is great! Misty's going to be so happy! Well, once you two smooth out your feelings and all, which admittedly might take a while—"

"Brock, no, you're totally misunderstanding! This isn't me, it's her! She has some sort of a…a…motive! And what feelings? Brock, you're totally losing it here! This is Misty and I, remember?"

"Heh, it's okay, Ash, you don't need to say anything more. I've got it. You poor, naive kid." He patted Ash on the back in a brotherly gesture. "Now, you're on this path, too!"

Ash sulked. "Even though you say you understand, I think we're on totally different pages here…"

"On the contrary, Ash. Now, come on, get ready to do your best training, and I'll talk to Misty. Go get Pikachu, I think he went in the tent."

Ash stalked off, now feeling more confused than he had before.

As Ash retrieved Pikachu and his Pokéballs, Brock approached Misty, who was teaching Politoed how to create a thin stream of water like a fountain. Clearly her heart wasn't in it, but Politoed's enthusiasm made up for this. As she saw Brock approaching, she dully recalled Politoed.

"So?" She said, looking up at him. He felt a twinge of pity when he noticed she had wiped the lip gloss off. He knew she held Ash's opinion of her in exclusive priority, though the chances of her openly admitting such a thing were slim at best, but giving in to his childish complaints didn't seem right. Especially, thought Brock with an inner smile, now that he knew what he knew, and what he was going to impart to her.

"So the gist of it is that his hormones are finally kicking in and he now finds you distracting. In _that_ way." Brock said, grinning despite himself.

"W-what?" she stammered, blushing. "I mean… How am I supposed to react to that? Are you sure you're not just reading into things? Did he say that?"

"Well… He said enough that I know for a fact that that's exactly what he was getting at. Not that he totally understands it, but that's what's going on, anyway."

Misty tried to squish the little smile that came over her, leading to her mouth forming a straight line that she kept pushing out of a curve. "He's just so stupid," she said. She intended to sound defiant like always, but it came out more tender than she intended. Probably because she was still squashing back that smile, but it came forward in her voice anyway.

"You can put the lip gloss back on if you want. I don't think he'll say anything else. You might even catch him staring, and don't pretend you wouldn't like that 'cause I know you would."

"Shut up, Brock," she said, but the smile was still overtaking her tone.

"Maybe just give him a break for now," Brock said ponderously, stroking his chin. "You know, you can go full-force after the League is over. Then his little conspiracy theory bubble won't hold up, and maybe he can get some serious training done before the League. Well, maybe."

"Conspiracy theory? Do I even want to know?"

"He thought you were trying to distract him intentionally for some reason so he wouldn't do as well in the League."

Misty rolled her eyes. "Wow. That's what he thought? How did he even manage to come up with something that makes that little sense?"

"Beats me."

"Well, I guess I can go easy on the, um, distractions for now," She said. She turned, holding her hands behind her back, and finally just unleashed the giddy smile she had been holding back. No use trying to fool Brock. Even if he was oblivious and delusional in his own love life, he knew Ash and Misty better than that. "There's plenty of time to get him all worked up after the competition, now that I know he's paying attention. Plus, I think I might just take him up on using his chapstick for now." She smirked, heading for the tent, while Brock shook his head with a chuckle. It was going to be an interesting couple of months, and he was looking forward to the inevitable soap opera that would ensue once the League was over. _Time to invest in some good earplugs, and popcorn! _Brock thought, grinning.


End file.
